Winter Rose

Lock and Key has launched a new winter cocktails list and I recently checked out some of the new drinks. You’ll find drinks for all sorts of palates including the pretty Winter Rose. This would be a good starter or mid-drinks sipper. I like the mix of gin and Chareau, the aloe vera liqueur. Although we’ve had some cool nights, it’s warming up again and this drink will make you long for patio weather.

Winter Rose – gin, Chareau aloe vera liqueur, lemon, ginger, hibiscus flower syrup, rose water, orange bitters

edamame

Did you know Lock and Key has food? I didn’t! We had some snacks while imbibing. There’s great snacks like edamame.

Key No. 3

Lock and Key has a barrel-aged cocktail on their menu. The Key No 3 takes No. 3 Gin and adds in three different amari as well as the house caramelized pineapple syrup that’s also in the Hemingway Holiday. There’s also a bit of pear syrup and all spice dram to round out the drink and give it some depth.

Key No. 3 – gin, Cynar, Ramazzotti, Amaro Nonino, caramelized pineapple syrup, pear syrup, all spice dram

chicken pops

The chicken pops caught my eye. Being a chicken wings fiend, it’s great to be able to eat wings without much fuss. Most of the meat has been freed and is left on one bone making it a one or two bite (or three).

chicken sliders

But you should really try the chicken sliders. The fried chicken is moist and juicy. I liked the spicing as well.

Hemingway Holiday

The Hemingway Holiday is Lock and Key’s variation on a Hemingway daiquiri (which is of course a spin on a traditional daiquiri). Taking the idea of rum, sugar and lime, you add in the very tropical caramelized pineapple syrup and ginger. It’s very refreshing.

Hemingway Holiday – ginger and spiced rum, lime, caramelized pineapple syrup, candied ginger

ramen burger

You can also get a ramen burger at Lock and Key. There’s a walk-up window next door but I rather sit inside with a good cocktail to go with this burger. We added in cheese and a fried egg because we are gluttons. It was surprisingly not that messy to eat. And great fries!

Up ‘N Up

I love a good sour drink and the Up ‘N Up is a whiskey sour on the move. Besides spirit, citrus and egg white, the additional flavors of apple, maple and walnut bitters gives this an almost autumnal feel. With our weather all over the place, that’s just fine with me.

Up ‘N Up – bourbon, apple, lemon, egg white, maple syrup, ginger, walnut bitters, Angostura bitters, nutmeg

El Chapo

Moving into the brown and bitter category, we see the cheekily named El Chapo. I bet he’d break out of prison to get to this cocktail. This is basically a mezcal Manhattan.

El Chapo – mezcal, Italian apertif wine, orange bitters, orange twist

Polanco

Tequila (and mezcal) are rising spirits in LA and it’s nice to see them featured at Lock and Key. Try the Polanco which is another Manhattan (brown, bitter, stirred) spin but made with reposado tequila and gin. Actually, could this be a Martinez with the addition of repo tequila? A fine cocktail scholarly debate– over drinks.

Polanco – reposado tequila, gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino, Peychaud’s bitters, sour cherry bitters, lemon twist

Check out these drinks before Spring because we’ll see another seasonal menu pop up then.

Lock and Key